wolduwikiwikiaorg-20200214-history
Ultimate Marina Rankings
Yet another product of my boredom, this will consist of every song on the three official albums plus the songs EVOL, Just Desserts, and Electra Heart as well as Porn Is Good For The Soul. Rankings 47. Electra Heart (Electra Heart) - Marina's only flat-out bad song, which would be completely at home at a rave or an EDM concert or something. The uninspiring, dubstep beat plus the repetitive lyrics make for a really uninteresting, tedious, and just plain bad song. 46. Radioactive (Electra Heart) - Similar to Electra Heart, this song is just bland, uninspiring, and has some of the most generic lyrics and instrumental around, especially for Marina. The piano-based beginning is good, but then it goes quickly downhill and just feels... empty. 45. How To Be A Heartbreaker (Electra Heart) - Also known as "How To Be A Generic Pop Song" (shoutout to COKEMAN11), this one is also one of the lowest points of Electra Heart, with generic lyrics that could be sung by basically any current pop star and I wouldn't even bat an eyelash, and a not-really-that-catchy-or-remarkable melody. 44. Homewrecker (Electra Heart) - If the rest of the song were anything like the chorus or especially ''the bridge, this would probably be in green, but the verses are really, really not good at all. While they're supposed to be experimental, I'm not a fan of the spoken word technique that she uses, and it makes the song extremely slow and just weird to listen to. 43. Fear and Loathing ''(Electra Heart) - yawn. I've heard the entirety of this song maybe twice and I don't really have any desire to ever listen to it again. 42. Living Dead (Electra Heart) - I used to really like this one, I don't really like it anymore, it sounds a bit too dance-y and, despite being catchy, it's extremely repetitive, mostly the chorus. The lyrics are also weird. Really, just another filler track on Electra Heart, nothing too special. 41. Hypocrates (Electra Heart) - The title is good and intriguing, and it's definitely not overproduced or filled with loud, obnoxious EDM beats or anything, but it's just... very bland. Not much to see in this song. I had a phase where I listened to it a lot for like 3-4 days but then got tired of it, realized it was boring, and never listened to it again. I think this about sums up this song's existence. 40. I'm A Ruin (FROOT) - The first non-Electra Heart song falls, and as for I'm A Ruin, I just... don't get it. This song is extremely empty, I can't find anything that interests me in it. The chorus is too slow for me to sing along or dance to, and the lyrics are sparse and boring. Although Immortal was the song that first struck me as Electra Heart-y, I have realized that I'm A Ruin actually fits that bill much more. I just see nothing interesting or good about this song, but nothing remarkably bad about it either. It's just really, really meh. 39. Lonely Hearts Club (Electra Heart) - Starting off the green section, also known as the songs that I like but rarely listen to, is Lonely Hearts Club, which exemplifies that description perfectly. I really liked Lonely Hearts Club for a while, then listened to it too much, got tired of it, and realized it was only alright. The pre-chorus is good, though, but that doesn't change the fact that the only thing I think of when I hear this song is a video of Joey Graceffa lip-syncing to a sped up version of it. 38. Lies (Electra Heart) - I'm very conflicted on Lies. For one, the melody is nice, and I appreciate how heartfelt it is... if only the vocals weren't drowned out by the extremely overwhelming and booming synths that reverberate throughout the entire song. Oh well. Still solidly good, though. 37. Buy the Stars (Electra Heart) - Buy the Stars is a simple, mostly piano-based song, which is a really nice breath of fresh air compared to some of the overproduced, bombastic tracks on the album. The song itself isn't too catchy or remarkable, but the lyrics are nice and there's nothing wrong with it. 36. Guilty (The Family Jewels) - A Family Jewels song out already?! But really, Guilty has always been the weakest link on the mostly-flawless album to me. The melody is strange, the lyrics are kind of disturbing, and the song isn't too easy to remember or sing along to. The bridge is great, though; good bridges in really meh songs seem to kind of be a theme in some of Marina's lesser songs. 35. Immortal (FROOT) - I've had conflicted feelings towards Immortal since it came out. At first, I didn't like it at all and thought it was way too Electra Heart-esque for my taste - some of those feelings still ring true, mostly how her voice is in a falsetto for the whole song. But I've learned to appreciate it a bit more, at least more than I'm A Ruin, since the lyrics are really interesting (depressing, but interesting) and there's a decent amount of variety in the song. I doubt it'll ever become one of my absolute favorites, but my feelings towards Immortal have been getting more and more positive. 34. Gold (FROOT) - While Gold is the most forgettable track on FROOT to me, this is not a bad song at all. The lyrics are definitely the high point of the song, and there are some scrapped lyrics that I wish had made it into the song. The vocals are good, the strange dolphin noises in the background give it a tropical vibe. But for the most part, Gold is just one of those good-but-nothing-too-special Marina songs. It works really well as background music while I'm doing something else. 33. Bubblegum Bitch (Electra Heart) - A short, catchy, but really confusing song that serves as the opener to everything I dislike (and some things I like) about Electra Heart. Apparently there are Britney Spears references in here, which feels wrong for some reason, and when I first heard the title I figured Marina was calling someone else a bubblegum bitch or making fun of it, but... nope, she's referring to herself as one. Then again, the song is extremely fun to sing along to (uh... not that I do that often, though) and it's really catchy, so at least the music itself is great. Very conflicted on this one. 32. Teen Idle (Electra Heart) - I'm finally starting to come around to Teen Idle. For a while, I didn't like it too much - the lyrics bothered me (and I still don't know how to feel about them, but they're certainly clever) and I thought the instrumental was slow and uninspiring. After I spent a year or two not listening to it at all and then coming back to it, though, I realized it was much better than I had originally given it credit for. Marina's harmonies are great, the chorus is fun, and the song is overall enjoyably dark. 31. Primadonna (Electra Heart) - Well, this is probably Marina's biggest hit, and there are some definite pros and cons to it. The chorus IS kind of Katy Perry-esque, and is the definite weak spot of the song, but even it becomes much better the second time it's sung due to how great the harmonies are. The verses, though, are the highlights of Primadonna, they're really catchy, remind me of classic Marina, and the "ooh!" and "yeah!"s in the background are also great. This probably shouldn't be known as Marina's magnum opus or most popular song or anything, but I like it a lot more than I used to. 30. Oh No! (The Family Jewels) - I really WANT to love Oh No! a lot more than I actually do, I appreciate it a lot but there are a few things that stop me from genuinely loving it. I feel like it's almost too short, and due to that some parts seem really rushed, like it's flying into verses and choruses and everything without any interludes. The lyrics are awesome, and so is the music video, but it's just kind of a weird, short outlier from most of The Family Jewels. 29. The Family Jewels (The Family Jewels) - The mystical title track of The Family Jewels. I frequently forget this song exists, since it's not really available to listen to anywhere other than YouTube, and it actually sounds like one of Marina's unreleased tracks from like 2009. Great song that I barely remember, but when I do, it's always a good time. 28. Forget (FROOT) - Forget is really good, but I feel like everything it does, another track on FROOT does better - for instance, it reminds me a lot of Blue, but I like Blue a lot more in almost every aspect, and Weeds is just slightly better in the "bittersweet ballad about exes" category too. Forget is fun, though, and has an amazing bridge - the way that Marina pronounces "tortoise" is the highlight. 27. Sex Yeah (Electra Heart) - This track boasts some of the best lyrics from Electra Heart, and that may even be the best part of it. The song is also catchy, and I know this one is a fan favorite, but there's something about the instrumental to me that prevents the song from truly breaking out to me. Genius lyrics, though, and this one is also really good to run to. It's a classic case of "everything else I love even more." 26. Shampain (The Family Jewels) - Apparently Marina hates this song, which I don't get because it's pretty great (though there's an even more glaring example of this coming much, much later). The pun in the title is great, of course, and the weird synth effects that Marina does in this song actually completely fit. One of the less memorable tracks from The Family Jewels, but still an enjoyable one under the right circumstances. 25. Weeds (FROOT) - A heartfelt, slower ballad that's probably the only one of its kind on the album. Weeds's main weakness is that it's just a little repetitive, but apparently according to one of the wiki's foremost Marina enthusiasts, that was her goal, so it's understandable. The lyrics and instruments are nice (especially the guitar solo), and the song in general is a really good one to listen to if you're in a wistful mood. 24. The State of Dreaming (Electra Heart) - The beginning of this song is nice and peaceful, and Marina's first verse is also great. The "my life is a play" pre-chorus is perfectly dramatic and mournful, and really the only weakness that this song has is that the chorus turns a little too over-the-top in terms of the background music for my tastes. As usual, though, it has some pretty great lyrics (especially the reference to Marilyn Monroe's iconic quote in the first line). 23. I Am Not A Robot (The Family Jewels) - One of the more low-key songs on The Family Jewels, the lyrics of this song illustrate quirky Marina pretty well, and the various effects she uses on her voice are fun to hear. It's also got a strange, trippy, interesting music video, and it's one of Marina's more bittersweet songs. It's a little too slow and spacey for me to fully ADORE it, but it's sweet and sincere. 22. Power & Control (Electra Heart) - This song's instrumentation, other than the distracting loud beats in certain parts of it, is amazing - especially the dramatic, steadily building up beginning, as well as the echoing effect of Marina's voice. The harmonies are great too, and the lyrics are of course also awesome, especially the melody of the ending lines - "cause all my life I've been controlled, you can't have peace without a war." 21. EVOL (N/A) - One of Marina's mysterious "in-between-EH-and-Froot" tracks, EVOL is a great one - all the way from the title, which allows for some great wordplay and puns in the chorus. In terms of music and production, EVOL sounds a little less poppy and a little more like classic Marina, which made for a great transition from Electra Heart back to Marina's more independent endeavors in Froot. 20. Rootless (The Family Jewels) - This track is so ''Marina, it's almost not even funny. Similarly to basically all the other songs on The Family Jewels, it has bizarre but great lyrics, and the dark tone and minor key fit especially well. The song is a little bit slow and mournful, almost like a scary dirge or something to that extent. If only this was more than a bonus track on the US version of the album. 19. Blue ''(FROOT) - And with this, Blue becomes the last song in the blue tier, which feels right in a way. Blue is one of the poppier songs on the album, but it's extremely catchy and proves that not all breakup songs have to be sad and gloomy. Some of the subtle touches to this song make it even better, such as the harp that magically shows up for the last refrain and continues its presence until the end of the song. 18. Better Than That (FROOT) - Better Than That is a scathing ''track where Marina basically roasts a woman she's not a fan of, and it's amazing. The highlight, of course, is the bridge, where the melody takes a different turn to become even more catchy and the lyrics ramp up to become even better ("I'm not passing judgement on her sexual life/I'm passing judgement on the way she always stuck her knife in my back"). 17. Starring Role ''(Electra Heart) - As tempting as it was to put Seventeen in this slot, I have to stay true to myself. Starring Role is easily one of my favorite songs from Electra Heart; I didn't care much about it at first either way but then slowly started to realize that it really didn't have too many flaws. After the edgy, personal verses, the chorus explodes onto the scene, and the "you know I'd rather walk alone (rather walk aloooone)" part is layered perfectly. The bridge is great, too. 16. Valley of the Dolls (Electra Heart) - And the last Electra Heart song falls (unless you count Just Desserts)! This song, clearly the standout of the album, has a mystical feel that adds to the somewhat haunting nature of the song, complete with morbid lyrics and everything ("now I'm ready for the last hurrah, dying like a shooting star" <3). The harmonies in the chorus and the perfect note that the song ends on just add to it, and there's no contest that this is my favorite from Electra Heart. Also, I adore the title, it might be one of my favorite song titles ever. 15. Can't Pin Me Down (FROOT) - Despite being the shortest song on the album by a pretty large margin, Can't Pin Me Down is still a great one. The song structure is fairly simple and repetitive, but in a good way - Marina's point is hammered across, and there are some great (if confusing) lyrics featured in it too. The best part of the song lies in the instrumentation, actually, since I have a soft spot for the thumping (some might say groovy!) bass that's audible in the chorus. 14. Are You Satisfied? (The Family Jewels) - Are You Satisfied? is the very first Marina song I heard, as well as the way I discovered her, so even though I don't listen to it much nowadays, there's a MASSIVE nostalgia bomb there that makes it so much better for me. The song has so many different parts: the fast-paced verses that are basically just Marina ranting (doing what she does best), the theatrical chorus, the bridge which actually gets really sad and deep, and then the end where she repeats "are you satisfied" over and over. That part actually stuck in my head for a year or two after I first heard the song on the radio, and thanks to it, I did a deep dive into Marina's discography, so thanks, Are You Satisfied?. <3 13. The Outsider (The Family Jewels) - The Outsider is probably a pretty big fan favorite, and I love it too, but that's the problem with ranking the discography of an artist as amazing as Marina, all of the songs are just so great. The song is enjoyably weird, with the chorus being a definite highlight (especially the refrain of "on my own again"s). Speaking of that refrain, the song ends on a great note with the refrain of "again... inside... again" gradually becoming slower. 12. Solitaire (FROOT) - Solitaire is interesting, since I saw many YouTube comments before I had listened to the full album that implied that Solitaire was one of the worst tracks on the album. Of course, I had to listen to see if that had any semblance of truth to it, and... it couldn't have been farther from the truth. Solitaire is wonderful, and the slow, minor-key-filled verses remind me of a cross between Girls and Rootless, which is maybe the best possible comparison I could give. My only complaint is that the chorus is a bit of a letdown compared to the AMAZING verses, but it's definitely one of the best songs on FROOT as well as one of the most unique. 11. Seventeen (The Family Jewels) - There are so many things I love about Seventeen. It actually reminds me of Are You Satisfied? in terms of the background music (mainly due to the heavy use of piano and general tempo). The piano-based beginning which segues perfectly into the verses, despite being different, is great. Despite the song being really short, it has this epic feeling throughout all of it, especially the emotional ending, where it ends just as it starts - with some great piano. 10. Savages (FROOT) - For some reason, it seems to be a common pattern that the second-to-last track on an album will just be flat-out amazing, and that pattern is definitely displayed with Savages. The song has some of the absolute best lyrics out of any of Marina's songs, providing some important social commentary intertwined with metaphors and your average quirky Marina lines. The whole song has a great, catchy beat and flows extremely well, especially the pre-chorus and chorus. The end, where Marina is wailing operatically over the beat, is just so... her. Savages is only #10 because musically, it's not quite as ''unique as most of the other songs left, and sounds kinda similar to a few other songs on FROOT. Despite that, though, it's still an ''amazing ''song, and the first member of the pink/god-tier section of this ranking. 9. Just Desserts ''(Electra Heart) - And the last song from the Electra Heart era falls. Just Desserts is Marina's only song with a feature, who happens to be Charli XCX. Now, most of the other songs Charli XCX has featured on are pretty normal (or horrible, in one case) and her overall discography is just solidly okay, but Just Desserts is AMAZING. Charli's voice is similar to Marina's in such a way that it took me forever to even realize that someone other than Marina was singing the verses. Of course, the chorus is the main draw of this song, where Marina herself actually does come in. The chorus is intense, with the soft piano repeating in the background of Marina's powerful vocals providing a great effect. Another reason why I love this one so much is a nostalgia factor, I first became obsessed with it when I was at Greenrock in 2013 (that's a #tbt for sure) so obviously it reminds me of that. I really wish Just Desserts was an official MP3 release since it's just that good. 8. Numb (The Family Jewels) - Numb is just... a masterpiece, really. The whole song is an amazing mess of great harmonies, powerful instrumentation, lots of layering in Marina's vocals, and poignant lyrics, and it all comes together to make what is a perfect closing track for The Family Jewels. When I think about Numb, for some reason, I always think about going on a a long car ride late at night while BLASTING it from the speakers. Not sure why, but it just has that ~feel~ to it, and that is definitely a good thing. Though Numb is the longest track on the album, it doesn't feel overdone or lagging, mostly thanks to the large variety of refrains that are repeated throughout the last two minutes. It all just feels very fresh and overall epic. 7. Hermit the Frog (The Family Jewels) - This is one of Marina's weirdest songs, right down to the strange pun in the title, but if you know anything about my music taste, you should probably know that that's a massive compliment. From the very first second of the song, it's obvious that it's going to be an experience, and the little touches throughout it (such as the cackling in the background of the line "The devil had control over me") just add to that. After the first chorus, more weird vocal patterns emerge ("AH OH AH OH AHHHHH") and the lyrics just become even better, especially the second verse. After the explosive choruses, the song ends on a slower note, which somehow feels right - slowing down after the insanity of everything else about it. Now, looking at this song objectively, it should probably be in my top 3 or so, so it might sound weird that it's this low. I think the main reason it was left out of my top 5 is the fact that it was one of the first Marina songs I listened to, and I've loved it for a while but kind of gradually gotten burnt out on it, which sucks, but sadly it's a part of life when you constantly listen to music. 6. Froot (FROOT) - I wasn't entirely sure what direction Marina was going to go in after the Electra Heart era ended, but from the second I heard Froot, I knew it was going to be a good one. The song is very long, very catchy, and is a perfect lead single/title track from the album. There are so many different parts to Froot that it doesn't end up sounding boring at any point, similar to Numb, and I never realize how really long it is (5 1/2 minutes, jfc). Perhaps the highlight of the whole song is the chorus, which is perfect to sing along to or dance to or anything, really. The melody of the very last "I've been saving all my summers for you" is so ClassicMarina-esque, too, which makes it even better. Overall, Froot is one of the most unique songs on the album, it has an awesome throwback/80s retro sound, and it's the perfect title track. It also has an amazing remix. What more could you ask for? 5. Happy (FROOT) - The last Froot song falls, and for a while I debated putting Froot above Happy, but I realized after re-listening to Happy that there's no way anything else could be my #1 from the album. Happy is a slow, chiefly piano ballad that's pretty out-of-place among the other more bombastic tracks on the album, but it's really just a beautiful song. What separates Happy from some of the other ballads Marina has done that I don't love as much (such as Weeds, Buy the Stars, etc) are the lyrics, which I connected to on a spiritual level. The lyrics took me on a journey of feels (actual quote from my OHS Press Marina review) and really made me feel a ~connection~ to the song that was much deeper than just liking the melody and instruments. I love how vulnerable Marina seems in the song, and how different it is from everything else on the album. It's a perfect opener for Froot, and the best new song she's written. Oh, and I also cried when I saw her perform it live, so that happened. 4. Hollywood (The Family Jewels) - Hollywood is more pure classic Marina. The lyrics here are probably the pinnacle of anything she's ever written, they're filled with so many now-memetic lines and amazing rhymes (the Shakira/Catherine Zeta/Marina part is pretty much legendary at this point). I love that Marina is able to make commentary on America, Hollywood, and consumerism and related subjects, and still sounds like she's telling a story with the song too. And then, of course, the song itself is great too. The harmonies in the pre-chorus are very well-done, the chorus just explodes in the best way possible, and the music video is flawless too (maybe her best?). 3. Obsessions (The Family Jewels) - Speaking of piano ballads, Obsessions is Marina's best for sure since not only does it manage to be heartfelt and feels-y, but it's also just genuinely catchy and really well-made. The song gives me slight Regina Spektor vibes, which is amplified even more by the quirky lyrics (the second verse is a true modern masterpiece). The bridge is one of those musical progressions that would just be so at home in, like, a montage of a film where someone's looking out of a car window while it's raining and thinking about ~intense~ things. I'm not sure what I love so much about Obsessions because it's not the weirdest or flashiest song of Marina's, but it just sets a really nice tone that's unlike most other songs I know and I love it for that. 2. Girls (The Family Jewels) - Deciding which song out of Girls and Mowgli's Road would place #1 in this ranking was incredibly tough, and I'm sure I'll switch this around a few times, but here goes. Girls is one of Marina's more obscure, underrated, even controversial songs and I don't see it as having very big of a fanbase on the Internet. Why do I love it so much, then? There are a few reasons. First of all, the song is your quintessential ToadSong. Cryptic lyrics? Minor key? Bizarre instruments? All of those are there. The way that the song flows captured my heart immediately, and it's one of those songs for me that just sticks in my head constantly. And honestly, a lot of the reason that Girls is so high up is because it has an accordion in it. The accordion is unironically my favorite instrument of all time, and it's a completely different style from almost anything Marina has ever made, so hearing it in Girls is still such an amazing pleasant shock. The bridge of this song literally consists of an accordion solo and Marina cackling, and that's probably the best possible musical creation ever. On the other hand, the lyrics are pretty... unusual, and I can see why that might alienate some people (such as Marina herself, apparently, which sucks because I'd love to see it live), but I really don't think Girls is a sexist song. I think Marina is critiquing the standards that society places on women and saying that since she doesn't live up to those standards, she isn't considered a true "woman" (especially in the pre-chorus). Overall, Girls is one of my favorite songs of Marina's discography as well as one of my favorite songs of all time, and I listen to it super frequently and it still never gets old to this very day. It deserves more love, but maybe it's just one of those weird songs that caters specifically to me. Either way, it's fantastic. TOP 1: Mowgli's Road